Mr. Electric of Macomb and Oakland Counties

I called this business because I had some immediate needs — some kitchen outlets that had stopped working and a hall light that when he went to change the bulb on, my husband could not get to work. I also had a list an arm long that I wanted to get an estimate for. We need a new service panel because ours is full, we need outside outlets, outlets in the garage, a ceiling fan installed where no fixture exists in an inaccessible place, and supplemental heating in a cold room installed. I needed to talk to the electrician before ordering the fan and the heater, and do not mind paying for a reasonable fee for a consultation. I also have a problem in the kitchen where we can’t figure out what the problem is. Something smells like there is an electrical problem, like a wire is getting too hot and melting or something when we have the pop-​up vent fan on. I thought the problem might have to do with the problematic switch for it and we wanted an electrician to look at it. I got this business off of Angie’s List, which my husband recently subscribed to, knowing we were going to have to hire contractors for several jobs.
As for the last problem, with the pop-​up fan, the electrician told me he does not do appliance repair and I understood, but he did agree we could run the appliance while he was there and see if the smell returned and he could give me an opinion on whether it smelled electrical. We did that and the smell never came. But the electrician was helpful and kind and spend several minutes discussing it with me.
The light in the hall was fixed in seconds as the light bulb he installed went on without a problem, and he did not charge me for having a non-​handy husband who did not have success in changing the light bulb. Again, the electrician was kind and helpful and generous. He even suggested we replace the fixture, as the wiring is looking worn.
Then we discussed all of the updates and he did what he needed to do in order to give me the estimate. Finally, he looked at the outlets, found (as I expected) that the GFCI was bad, and replaced it with one from his truck. He told me in advance that the charge for doing the analysis of the kitchen outlets was going to be about $ 300! He lowered the price when it took him only seconds to test the GFCI and find the problem. Then it took him five minutes to replace it.
My problem with the whole encounter comes with the bills. There was a $ 79.50 service call charge. That pretty much takes care of the light bulb and discussion about the fan, I figure. Then the charge for the service on the electrical outlets was decreased to $ 115.23. Okay. On top of that, though, he charged me $ 101.52 for the GFCI part itself. The most expensive retail price I can find online for any GFCI TR is $ 25. Home Depot sells one for $ 13.97 retail. I hardly think they paid retail. They marked up the cost of the outlet by at least four times the retail cost, and probably more like 6 to 8 times their cost.
So, for replacing a lightbulb, a GFCI outlet and discussing a problem and why they do not handle it, I paid $ 296.25. I was going to give them a lot of work and they gave me an estimate and were going to charge me $ 3800 for it. Looking at the estimate, I see the same kind of upcharges for all of the parts in the job. I am going to shop around and see if I can find an electrician who will do a job without the price gouging on the parts of the job that I can actually price out.
Being disabled is really a pain in the pocketbook. A few years ago, I would have done the bulb changing and GFCI change-​out myself, after reviewing the proper procedures online. I am now better understanding how my mother handed over the last of her savings to a repairman who talked her into «re-​leveling» her mobile home when she had called him in for other work. She was old and blind and feeling helpless. Well, I am not feeling helpless yet, and I still have faith that there are better tradesmen or women out there.

Prices are affordable and It’s comforting knowing the work is going to be done right. I wouldn’t use anyone else.

Great service and good prices!!! Chuck is awesome